HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS —Chris Paul knows exactly what that chest-swelling experience is like when you represent your country in the Olympics and return home with gold around your neck.

That experience, twice, and a living coaching legend like Mike Krzyzewski have served as incentive for Paul to reconsider his future participation with USA Basketball, namely for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

A healthy dose of peer pressure probably didn’t hurt the cause. Pau’s teammates on the gold medal winning team from the 2012 London Olympics, Kevin Durant and Kevin Love, officially signed on for next summer’s World Cup of Basketball in Spain and 2016 during last week’s USA Basketball mini-camp in Las Vegas.

Paul reconsidering could have an impact on other veteran stars (LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, etc.) who were ready to move on and leave coveted slots on the Men’s Senior National Team’s roster for both tournaments to younger stars.

There’s no shortage of talent, especially at point guard. Paul could be in competition with the likes of Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose, Kyrie Irving, Steph Curry and a host of others vying for a roster spot in 2016. There were eight point guards on the mini-camp roster last week in Las Vegas.

But Paul would seem to be a lock for 2016 given his relationship with Coach K and the fact that he’s already earned golds in Beijing in 2008 and in London last summer. Three years is plenty of time for Paul and any other members of that 2012 team to reconsider their options. Not all of them are expected to even consider the possibility of another run in 2016, but USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo made it clear last week that the door remains open for at least a handful of those stars to rejoin the player pool that will produce the 12-man roster for Rio.

And as of today, only Durant and Love are committed for both Spain next summer and Rio in 2016.

20 Comments

The reason USA team lost was because they didn’t practice together like other FIFA teams, that’s why they’re going to training camp…………If you put 10 NBA player together it doesn’t mean they can play well together, you need practice to be a good team

US would have won the olympics with rookies and second year players if they wanted to. You used to win with college players didnt you? even tho the basketball level are higher now in other countries than it used to be.

Team USA finally understood that foreign countries are getting competitive that’s why they’re doing a maintenance check on their national team squad. They’ve been scared to not underestimate opposing olympic teams such as Argentina who did a good job of playing physical against team USA. Basketball is now globally competitive not just in America?

Puerto Rico beat the US by 19 in 2004, a team that featured Duncan, Iverson, Stodemire, Lebron, Carmelo, Wade etc.. The gap has closed, basketball is global, and the US won’t cruise anymore to an olympic gold.

thats 3 years from now so all of the players you guys are thinking about will be injured paul and love cant make it through a complete season now there dumb to risk their careers for a medal ya its honerable but if the get seriousely injured their career is over and that means making money is over its more honerable to take care of your family then it is to win a medal i think the should impose the 25 age limit on that competition so are older players arent getting injured for nothing paul lebron carmelo the will all be in their 30s are close to 30s even durant and love will be close to 30s pgs cant even make it through a complete season now healthy last thing the need to do is spend their summer breaking their ankles in some other country

It’s crazy how much of an overflow of basketball talent we have in the U.S, other developed countries that are still relatively new to the game have very little options. I’m sure the U.S will still get gold if they play with an All-Star D-League team lol.

Yes all star d league could win if the opposing teams are from develop countries, but we’re taljing of olympics game. How could d leaguers beat spain, russia, argentina, lithuania, croatia and even china? Use your coconut shell man.

History is saying that you’re wrong. Last time when USA Team underestimated the other countries, they’ve faced the hardest beat-up.

Is a must for US – to play with the best players, is not only about honoring the country or the previous Dream Teams, is also a marketing and economical issue and showing up the superiority of the NBA league over FIBA championships.